THEATRE + COMEDY

Classical Theatre Company will kick off its 2011-2012 Main Stage season with a production of Marivaux’s The Triumph of Love. The production will run three weeks in September 8th-25th 2011 at the TBH Center, 333 South Jensen Drive.

Although a relative unknown to American audiences, Pierre de Marivaux is ranked among the most important playwrights in the French language. His mastery of comic characters and situations made him one of the most notable French dramatists of the 18th century, and The Triumph of Love is regarded as one of his most popular plays.

The Triumph of Love follows the footsteps of the princess Leonide as she infiltrates the sanctuary estate of the reclusive philosopher, Herrmocrate, to win the heart of one of his students, and the rival to her throne, with whom she has fallen instantly in love. In order to do so, she disguises herself as a young man to fool the stern philosopher, his servants, and his spinster sister, Leontine. In Herrmocrate’s prison of logic, Leonide must make love flourish, and in order to do so she must beguile all those around her. However as Leonide spins her webs of seduction and deception the situation spirals further and further out of her control. To what lengths will she go in order to see love triumph over reason?

“What’s challenging for me, as a director, is that the play is neither a farce nor thoroughly a lighthearted comedy,” says CTC’s Associate Artistic Director Julia Traber. “I think one critic suggested that Marivaux’s style is a ‘delicate blend of froth and contemplative sadness’. At first glance, the play could be interpreted as a fairy tale comedy, but at certain moments it is a rueful meditation on love. In The Triumph of Love, Marivaux argues that we cannot live by reason alone. We need love in our lives. However, he shows us that once we surrender to love, we are at the mercy of complete madness. The play’s notion that all is fair in love and war gives many of the characters the license to do whatever it takes and flirt with anyone who stands in their way, to get what they want…which for our cast members should be a fun acting challenge”.

DIRECTOR: Julia Traber

CAST:
Leonide: Ivy Castle
Hermocrate: Thomas Prior
Leontine: Pamela Vogel
Agis: Matt Hune
Corine: Bree Welch
Harlequin: Philip Hays
Damis: Shane Rogers

The Classical Theatre Company is dedicated to boldly re-envisioning classical drama on the stage, in the community, and in the classroom through engaging and enlightening plays - bringing them new life and relevance while maintaining the integrity that the works deserve.